Profile: The bespectacled, rubber-armed changeup artist had another fantastic season as a set-up man. Clippard worked 88.1 innings and struck out his highest percentage of batters in the big leagues (31.6 percent) while paring his walk rate to 7.9 percent, down from 10.9 percent the previous year. The 6-foot-3 Clippard’s see-saw delivery generates a ton of fly balls (60.1 percent last year, second-highest among relievers), and that led to some homer issues (1.1 home runs per nine). Still, his 3.17 FIP was stellar. You’ll note, however, that Clippard’s FIP is much higher than his 1.83 ERA. He was good, but he was also the beneficiary of a ridiculous .197 batting average on balls in play and a 95.6 percent rate of stranding base runners. Fly ball pitchers tend to have lower BABIP totals and high-strikeout pitchers have higher strand rates, but those numbers won’t be repeated. Clippard is entrenched as Drew Storen’s set-up man and should rack up holds again in 2012. (David Golebiewski)

The Quick Opinion: Clippard won’t post a sub-2.00 ERA again, but his combination of strikeouts and durability makes him a top option for holds. Storen doesn’t seem likely to slip up, so it would take an injury for Clippard to get the closer’s gig.

Profile: Over the last four seasons, Clippard has been one of the better set-up men in all of baseball and last year he finally got a crack in the closer’s role. However, with free agent acquisition Rafael Soriano in town and Drew Storen also back in the fold, Clippard will be back to the seventh and eighth innings in the Beltway. While Clippard was an acceptable closer, he’s likely more valuable to the Nationals getting more than just three outs per appearance. All relievers are failed starters, but Clippard is more than just a one or two-pitch reliever out of the pen and has appeared in the fourth-most games out of the bullpen in all of baseball since 2010. Clippard doesn’t exhibit exceptional control (3.59 walks per nine in 2012) or get many ground ball outs (29.7% ground-ball rate) but he can strike out his fair share of batters (10.40 strikeouts per nine) and since he pitches so many innings, he can really pile on the strikeout totals -- he has the second most in baseball behind Carlos Marmol since 2010. All in all, Clippard won’t be as valuable as he was in 2012 due to not getting any saves, but he is still rosterable. (Ben Pasinkoff)

The Quick Opinion: After saving 32 games for the Nationals in 2012, Clippard will go back to his familiar set-up role in Washington.

Profile: Clippard has been a 70+ appearance, high strikeout, reliable reliever for four seasons now. His ERAs have fluctuated thanks to the fickleness that is batting average on balls in play in a 70-90 inning sample, but his ERA over that four-year period is 2.73. That's what he is, a sub-three ERA reliever with a well above average strikeout rate and an average walk rate. In other words, he's good. If you're in a league where relievers don't have to get saves to have fantasy value, Clippard is definitely one of the elite, non-closer relievers. But if you need him to get saves, you'll have to wait for Rafael Soriano to get injured or to falter. Soriano did see a significant drop in his velocity, strikeout and swinging strike rates last year, so it's not impossible that he could lose the closer gig. But if he does, Clippard is likely the favorite to take over the role with Drew Storen also being in the mix. (Brett Talley)

The Quick Opinion: Tyler Clippard is going to pitch in 70+ games and strikeout tons of batters. That's what he has done for four straight years. But if you need saves for him to have fantasy value, you'll have to hope Rafael Soriano's big drop in strikeout rate is a sign of his imminent demise. For now, Clippard is just an elite, non-closer reliever.

Profile: Tyler Clippard is the closest thing the modern game has to a relief ace. He’s not a closer, but a high-usage workhorse, and he excels in the role. Clippard has pitched at least 70 innings in each of the last five seasons. During that period, his ERA has never exceeded 3.72. Usually, it’s much lower than that, thanks to an ability to avoid walks while racking up strikeouts and pop-ups. Now in Oakland, Clippard should usually take a back seat to closer Sean Doolittle. But the bearded Athletic is having some shoulder trouble, and so Clippard may find himself as the stopper, at least temporarily. As he showed in 2012, Clippard can close if pushed into the role. He’ll have to settle for more of the same, but that’s not a bad thing. (Chris Cwik)

The Quick Opinion: Clippard is one of the game’s best set-up men, and can close if pushed into the role. He should rack up a fair amount of holds, at the very least, and may start the season as a closer in the short term.

Profile: Although he is a perennial leader in league worst ground ball rate (21.2% earned him the 2015 crown), Tyler Clippard has been one of the better relievers in baseball going on seven seasons. He may not have endeared himself to Mets fans in the playoffs, but Clippard once again saw another season with a sub 3.00 ERA and an opposing batting average well south of .200. A free agent for 2016, his landing spot will very much dictate his value in most fantasy circles due to his role -- that of setup or closer. He'll likely get paid like a closer, but we've seen more than one team invest heavily in non-closer late-inning relievers, which is where Clippard has spent the majority of his career. FIP and xFIP have always turned their nose at his ERA, but there's not much in his profile which suggests imminent decline. (Michael Barr)

The Quick Opinion: Clippard continues to befuddle opponents with his devastating change, and there's not much to indicate he can't continue to be one of the league's better relievers in 2016. Where he signs will be important relative to his role, be it holds or saves.